Rotating piston machine arrangement



Dec. 7, 1965 F. J. J. JERNAES ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 12, 1964 Dec. 7, 1965 F. J. J. JERNAES 3,221,664

I ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT Filed June 12, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2.

Dec. 7, 1965 F. J. J. JERNAES 6 ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT Filed June 12, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 7, 1965 F. J. J. JERNAES ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 12,, 1964 FIG. 6.

Dec. 7, 1965 v F. J. J. JERNAES 3,221,654

ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT Filed June 12, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 7.

Dec. 7, 1965 F. J. J. JERNAES 3,221,654

ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT Filed June 12, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 p United States Patent 3,221,664 ROTATING PISTON MACHINE ARRANGEMENT Finn Joachim Jiirgen Jernaes, Agoler Alle 4, Oppg. 10, Kristiansand, Norway Filed June 12, 1964, Ser. No. 374,637 Claims priority, application Norway, Nov. 1, 1963, 150,654; Apr. 10, 1964, 152,774 17 Claims. (Cl. 103130) The invention relates to a rotating piston arrangement (in a device such as an engine, pump, compressor, steam engine, hydraulic motor, or the like) where a rotor is guided by a gear mechanism meshing with a toothed reaction wheel in such a way that the rotor can move into and out of one or more consecutively following work chambers which accommodate the rotor and are in a stationary casing.

The outside layout of the invention is basically the same as that of previously known rotating piston machines, the main difference being that the mechanism producing the rotational movement also gives rise to a substantially increased torque on the engine shaft as well as a greatly reduced rotational speed.

The invention is essentially characterized by having the moving gears or planet wheels, of which there should be at least two, supported in bearings on an end portion of the shaft of the rotational machine and meshing with the stationary reaction wheel or sun wheel which can have gear teeth on either the inside or the outside, while the rotor is supported through hearings on stub shafts which are integral with or fastened to the corresponding planet wheels. A further characteristic of the invention is that the distance between the center of one stub shaft and the center of the corresponding planet Wheel is the same for all planet wheels guiding the same rotor. The lines through the center of the stub shaft and the center of the corresponding planet wheel must also be parallel for all planet wheels guiding the same rotor.

A preferred construction of the invention is characterized by having discs or covers which are fastened to the sides of the rotor and moving with it and which both limit and form the side walls of the working chambers. These covers are provided with suitably shaped slots of a suitable length which during the movement of the rotor and covers will open the inlet or outlet passages to produce the desired control of the flow of a work medium such as gas, steam, or fluid to and from the work chamber.

To clarify the principle of the invention several embodiments thereof and hereafter described in conjunction with the attached drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic elevation View of an embodiment of the invention from which the principle of the invention will be apparent,

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the embodiment of FIG. 1 showing in detail the construction thereof,

FIGURES 3-6 are schematic views for explaining the principles of the invention in greater detail-s,

FIGURE 7 is a representation of the travel of a portion of the embodiment,

FIGURE 8 is a view of another embodiment employing a modified gear and planet wheel arrangement,

FIGURE 9 is a view showing the arrangement of an inner envelope curve of a hypertrochoid casing and a two lobe rotor; and

FIGURE 10 is a view showing the arrangement of an inner envelope curve of an epitrochoid casing and a three lobe rotor.

The drawings illustrate in FIGS. 16 a device wherein an internally toothed sun wheel and three planet wheels with a diameter one third of the sun wheel has been selected. In a stationary casing 1 there are formed three working chambers 2, 3, 4, each of which can be filled to a greater or lesser extent by the rotor 5 during its movement. The rotor 5 is carried by and guided in its special motion by a mechanism comprising a rigid disc 8 which is integral with a drive shaft 13. On this disc 8 at equidistant locations from the center of the drive shaft 13, the three planet wheels 7 are supported in bearings. The planet wheels 7 mesh with the above mentioned sun wheel 9 which is stationary since it is integral with or fastened to the stationary casing 1 of the machine. On the opposite side of the bearing on each of the planet wheels 7 is placed a stub shaft 6 which is integral with or fastened to the planet wheel 7. All the stub shafts 6 have the same eccentricity with respect to the center of the associated planet wheel 7. The rotor 5 is carried by these stub shafts 6 which fit into bearings in the rotor 5.

If the drive shaft 13 with the disc 8 is rotated clockwise, the lower rotor half, which in FIG. 1 is designated A, will first slide into and cause a reduction in volume of the work chamber 3. The rotor half B will subsequently, after continued turning of the drive shaft 13, slide into and cause a reduction in volume of the work chamber 2, after which the rotor half A will slide into and cause a reduction in volume of the work chamber 4. When this position is reached, A and B have exchanged places, which means that the rotor 5 (and the drive shaft) has turned half a revolution If another half revolution of the shaft is carried out, the rotor 5 will again slide into the work chambers in the order 3, 2, 4, after which the rotor returns to the starting position shown in FIG. 1. During one revolution of the shaft (and of the rotor) the rotor 5, therefore, will move into and out of each of the three work chambers 2, 3, 4 two times. This means, when the invention is used as a four stroke engine, that three working strokes are obtained for each revolution of the shaft, analogous to a six cylinder piston engine of the same type. If used as a two stroke (or for instance as a pump) six working strokes are obtained for each revolution of the shaft. If it should prove expedient in special cases, as for instance with large outputs, it is also quite possible to combine several rotating pistons on the same engine shaft.

Between each two of the work chambers 2, 3, 4, there must be a seal between the rotor 5 and the stationary casing 1, formed by a springloaded sealing component 11 always in contact with both these components. This can be done because on the epitrochoidally shaped rotor shown in FIG. 1 there exists for instance three stationary points which will all remain on the outline of the rotor when it goes through its doubly rotating movement. Through these points, in a common vertical plane, therefore, three lines can be drawn which can be considered as the generating lines of the rotor. In FIG. 1 the three lines can be found to coincide with the lines of contact between the rotor 5 and the springloaded seals 11.

FIG. 1 shows, as mentioned, the principle of the invention whereas FIG. 2 shows a section through a more practical form of construction which, however, for clearness is also much simplified. The rotor 5 is supported on stub shafts 6 on the planet wheels 7 which through additional short shafts 12 are supported in hearings on the disc 8. Both sides of the rotor 5 are provided with covers or discs 14 which protrude a sufficient distance outside the circumference of the rotor so that they cover the work chambers 2, 3, 4 on both sides of the stationary casing for all positions of the rotor. The casing 1 is supplied with sealing rings 15 which form a seal against the disc-s 14, two rings being preferable on each side. On both sides of the stationary casing 1 shields 16 are bolted which enclose the rotor S and the discs 14 and carry the bearing 17 for the shaft 13. When formed as a combustion engine, the stationary casing 1 is supplied with internal passages 18 for a coolant and with external manifolds 19, 20 for connection respectively to a carburetor (not shown) and an exhaust system (not shown). The discs 14 are supplied with suitably shaped openings which will, during the rotation of the discs 14, uncover or cover passages 23 leading into the work chambers 2, 3, 4 (FIG. 1) in such a way that these chambers can, at the right moments, be connected to the induction manifold 19 during the induction stroke, the exhaust manifold 20 during the exhaust stroke, and re main closed during the compression and the working stroke.

FIGS. 3-6 show schematically this principle in more detail. All details which are not necessary for the understanding of the invention are not included in the figures. The rotor is considered to have the same motion (clockwise) as described in connection with FIG. 1. In FIGS. 3-6 the rotor with the planet Wheel mechanism is shown in different positions at the same time as the corresponding positions of the above mentioned curved slots in the discs 14 are drawn in.

The disc closest to the reader and above the plane of the paper (the left disc in FIG. 2) has a curved slot 21 and the disc below the rotor and the casing has a corresponding slot 22. It is sufficient here to consider the upper work chamber 4, and it can be seen that the movement of the rotor from the position in FIG. 3 to the position in FIG. 4 will increase the volume of the upper chamber 4, and an induction will take place because the work chamber 4 will be connected to the inlet passage in the shield 16 and the induction manifold 19 as the slot 21 uncovers the passage 23 (see also FIG. 2). The induction will continue as long as the volume of the work chamber expands and as long as the passage 23 is open through the slot 21. In FIG. 4 the induction is completed and the work chamber 4 is closed because the slot 21 has passed the passage 23. On continued movement of the rotor 5 the gases in the chamber 4 will be compressed because the volume of the chamber 4 continually decreases until the position shown in FIG. 5 is reached. Here the ignition or the fuel injection takes place, and the work stroke now occurs by driving the rotor 5 from the position in FIG. 5 to the position in FIG. 6. When the position shown in FIG. 6 is reached the work stroke is finished and the slot 22 in the rear disc 14 is just beginning to connect the passage 23 to the exhaust duct in the shield 16 and the exhaust manifold 20 (FIG. 2).

On its Way past the passages 24 and 25 for the remaining two work chambers the slots, 21 and 22, will alternatively connect these to the induction and exhaust manifold. In this way the exhaust stroke takes place in the chamber 3, FIG. 5, and the induction stroke is effected in the chamber 2 at the same time as the work stroke occurs in the chamber 4. In FIG. 6 the induction in the chamber 3 is taking place while the compression is almost finished in the chamber 2.

The examples of the invention serve only to illustrate it and form no limitations, as details which are not necessary for the understanding of the invention are omitted for the sake of clearness. The combustion engine can thus be a gasoline engine, but the spark plugs and the ignition system are not shown. Because the clearances between the rotor and work chamber can be adjusted as desired (the lower limit for the size of the work chamber is the envelope curve formed by the rotor through its given movement), the exact compression ratios desired can be obtained in a simple way, even for compression ratios so high that the engine can Work as a diesel engine. The injection system for such an engine type is not shown either.

It was previously stated that the eccentric distance between the center of a planet Wheel 7 and the center of its protruding stub shaft 6, should be the same for all planet wheels guiding the same rotor, but otherwise the eccentricity can be chosen arbitrarily and independently of the radius of the planet wheel. There does, however, exist an upper theoretical limit on this distance as for instance if the sealing arrangement is placed in the stationary casing and the sun wheel is internally toothed it cannot exceed times the diameter of the circle circumscribing the rotor when n is the rat-i0 between the diameters of the sun wheel and the planet wheel. That the eccentricity is independent of the diameter of the planet wheel 7 and, therefore, also the diameter of the sun wheel 9 can be seen from FIG. 1 if the sun wheel 9 and the three planet wheels 7, and these components only, are imagined enlarged to for instance twice their size. If the engine shaft is turned the primary rotational movement of the rotor (the one which follows the engine shaft) will still remain the same as in FIG. 1. But since the eccentricity also is the same, the center of gravity of the rotor will still move in the same circular path with the same velocity as before. The eccentricity and the diameter of the planet wheels are, therefore, independent quantities, and the protruding stub shafts 6 can be placed outside as well as inside the pitch circle of the planet wheels. For the practical utilization of the invention this means that the size of the gear system (sun wheel and planet wheels), the rotor and the eccentricity can be varied independently of each other to satisfy any demands for volume of the chambers, torque, pressure between the gear teeth, etc.

The number of the planet wheels are limited to a minimum of two and to a maximum of the number that there is room for in the different constructions. The only condition which must be fulfilled is that the eccentricity everywhere be the same and that all lines connecting a planet wheel center and the corresponding stub shaft center be parallel.

In the examples in FIGS. 1-6 the system is shown with a gear ratio of /3 between the planet wheels and the internally toothed sun wheel. The rotor which is drawn by the three stationary sealing points then becomes an epitrochoid with two lobes and the casing becomes its envelope curve containing three lobes. If this same gear ratio is made equal to l/n, the rotor will have (n-1) lobes while the envelope curve will have n lobes.

If the curved periphery of the rotor (for example FIG. 3) is thought of as a stiff wire covered with ink and arranged in such a way that all parts of the plane touched by the wire during one revolution of the rotor are blackened, the picture shown in FIG. 7 will be produced. The outer envelope of the movement of the rotor is the shape of the stationary casing in FIG. 1. If a hollow rotor is made with the same inside shape as the outside shape of the previous rotor (FIG. 1), the inner envelope (the inner unblackened triangle) in FIG. 7 could serve as the stationary part. The seals would then be placed in the corners of the triangular body.

A further characteristic of the invention is that the sun wheel can have its teeth on the outside with the planet wheels meshing as shown in FIG. 8, where the gear ratio between planet wheel and sun wheel is 1:2. In this special arrangement there are two stationary points which will remain on the contour of the rotor when the rotor moves, and two work chambers are obtained in a housing which is shaped approximately as a number eight and developed as the outer envelope to the rotor which is a hypotrochoid with three lobes. The inner envelope which also can serve as the stationary part will in this case be an eggshaped body, its two end-points always in contact with the surrounding hypotrochoid. With a gear ratio l/n between the planet wheel and the sun wheel, the rotor in general for this case, will be a hypotrochoid with (n+1) lobes while the stationary part, as an envelope (inner or outer) will have n lobes. The seals would also in this case be placed in the stationary part.

A further variation of the invention is that the seals which in the previously described variations have been placed in the stationary part, can be placed in the rotor instead. For instance in the planet wheel mechanism shown in FIGS. 3-6, if the two points where the major axis of the rotor cuts its contour could be imagined to trace in a stationary plane, each of these points which are now to serve as sealing points would trace two congruent curves. This curve, which is to be the new shape of the stationary casing, is a hypotrochoid with three lobes, and, therefore, like the rotor in FIG. 8. The inner or outer envelope curve of the hypotrochoid (the outer is shown as the stationary casing in FIG. 8) is to be the new rotor. In FIG. 9 is shown a sketch of this arrangement where the inner envelope curve serves as the rotor. With a gear ratio of 1/ it between the planet wheel and sun wheel the stationary part will'in general (internally toothed sun wheel with sealing points in the rotor) be a hypotrochoid with n lobes while the two envelope curves will have (w-1) lobes.

If the seals are placed in the rotor when the sun wheel is externally toothed, there will for instance in the gear system shown in FIG. 8 be three points on the rotor drawing congruent curves .in a stationary plane. This curve (the new shape of the stationary part) will be an epitrochoid with two lobes, and consequently similar to the rotor in FIGS. 3-6. In FIG. 10 a sketch of this arrangement is shown where the inner envelope curve (FIG. 7) serves as a rotor. With externally toothed sun wheel and sealing points in the rotor and with a gear ratio of 1/ it between the planet wheel and the sun wheel, the stationary part will in general be an epitrochoid with n lobes while the two envelope curves will have (n+1) lobes.

The examples presented show only the principles which the invention makes it possible to utilize, and numerous practical constructional arrangements will be readily conceivable by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined in the attached claims.

Iclairn:

1. A machine comprising a first element, a second element concentric with the first element and surrounding the same, said second element being provided with internal recesses defining a plurality of adjacent chambers, the first element including at least one external lobe, means including a gear mechanism for driving one of the elements in rotation along a path in which said lobe of said first element is introduced and withdrawn from the chambers successively, said gear mechanism comprising a sun gear coupled with the other of said elements, externally toothed planet gears in mesh with the sun gear, said planet gears having individual centers, and means eccentrically supporting each of the planet gears with respect to its own center from said one element in regular angular relationship with respect to said sun gear such that upon relative rotation between said sun gear and planet gears said one element is caused to undergo relative rotation with respect to the other element.

2. In a machine having a first element, and a second concentric element surrounding the first element wherein said second element is provided with successive internal recesses defining a plurality of chambers and the first element has at least one external lobe, the improvement comprising means including a gear mechanism for driving one of the elements in rotation along a path in which the lobe of said first element is successively introduced and withdrawn from the chambers, said gear mechanism comprising a sun gear coupled with said other element, externally toothed planet gears in mesh with the sun gear, said planet gears having individual centers of rotation, and means supporting the planet gears from said one element in regular angular relationship with respect to said sun gear, each planet gear being rotatably supported from said one element at a common eccentric distance from its associated center, such that upon relative rotation between said sun gear and planet gears said one element is caused to undergo relative rotation with respect to the other element.

3. A machine comprising a first element, and a second concentric element surrounding the first element, said second element being provided with successive internal recesses defining a plurality of adjacent chambers, the first element including at least one external lobe, means including a gear mechanism for driving one of the elements in rotation along a path in which said lobe of said first element is successively introduced and withdrawn from the chambers one by one and in order, and means between said elements always providing seals therebetween at 10- cations in which the chambers are in permanent isolation from one another, said gear mechanism comprising a sun gear coupled with the other of said elements, externally toothed planet gears in mesh with the sun gear, said planet gears having individual centers and means supporting the planet gears from said one element in regular angular relationship with respect to said sun gear, each planet gear being supported from said one element at a common eccentric distance from its associated center such that upon relative rotation between said sun gear and planet gears said one element is caused to undergo relative rotation with respect to the other element.

4. A machine comprising a first element, a second concentric element surrounding the first element, said second element being provided with internal recesses defining a plurality of adjacent chambers, the first element including at least one external lobe, means including a gear mechanism for driving one of the elements in rotation along a path in which said lobe of said first element is introduced and withdrawn from the chambers successively, the latter means comprising a shaft coupled to the first element, a plurality of planet gears, means supporting the planet gears in regular angular arrangement around said shaft, each for rotation about its own respective center, said planet gears each including means located at a common eccentric location with respect to its associated center rotatably supported in said first element, and a sun gear coupled to the second element for common rotation therewith, said planet gears being in mesh with the sun gear such that upon relative rotation between the shaft and said second element, said sun gear and planet gears undergo relative rotation and produce relative rotation between said first and second elements.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means for each planet gear which is rotatably supported in said first element is a stub shaft.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said stub shafts are integral with the respective planet gear.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said first element has opposite surfaces, the sun gear and planet gears being located adjacent one of the surfaces of the first element, the machine further comprising a second sun gear and a plurality of further planet gears disposed adjacent the other surface of the first element and in mesh with said second sun gear.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said planet gears are oriented such that lines drawn from their respective centers to the locations at which they are connected to the second element all are parallel to one another.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the sun gear has internal teeth, and the ratio between the number of teeth on a planet gear and the number of teeth on the sun wheel is less than 1:2.

10. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the sun gear has external teeth, and the ratio between the number of teeth on a planet gear and the number of teeth on the sun wheel is less than 1:1.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the ratio between the number of teeth on a planet gear and the number of teeth on the sun gear is equal to 1:3.

12. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein the sun gear has internal teeth, and the ratio between the number of teeth on a planet gear and the number of teeth on the sun wheel is equal to 1:2.

13. A machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein each stub shaft has a center lying inside the pitch circle of the associated planet gear.

14. A machine as claimed in claim 4 wherein said first element has opposite surfaces, the machine further comprising a cover on both surfaces of the first element forming side walls for said chambers.

15. A machine as claimed in claim 14 comprising means securing the covers to the first element for common movement therewith.

16. A machine as claimed in claim 14 wherein said second element has an inlet and an outlet opening in communication with each chamber, said covers being provided with slots for opening and closing the inlets and outlets of the chambers during relative movement of said elements.

17. A machine comprising a rotor element and a stationary element, one of said elements being provided with successive internal recesses defining a plurality of chambers, the other element including at least one external lobe, means including a gear mechanism for driving the rotor element in rotation along a path in which each said lobe of said other element is introduced and withdrawn from the chambers successively, and means between said elements always providing seals therebetween at locations in which the chambers are in permanent isolation from one another, said gear mechanism comprising a sun gear on a first of said elements, externally toothed planet gears in mesh with the sun gear, said planet gears having individual centers, and means supporting the planet gears from the second of the elements in regular angular relation with respect to the sun gear, each planet gear being supported from the second element at a common eccentric distance from its associated center, such that upon relative rotation between the sun gear and the planet gears, the rotor element is caused to undergo relative rotation with respect to the stationary element.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 553,086 1/1896 Wheildon 103-130 748,848 12/ 1903 Cooley 123-8 1,560,624 11/1925 Varley 103131 1,679,592 8/ 1928 Williams 9156 1,700,038 1/ 1929 Feuerheerd 103-130 2,965,075 12/1960 Payne et a1. 9156 3,117,563 1/1964 Wiegert 12'314 FOREIGN PATENTS 961,872 6/1964 Great Britain.

MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

WILBUR J. GOODLIN, Examiner.

DONLEY I. STOCKING, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE COMPRISING A FIRST ELEMENT, A SECOND ELEMENT CONCENTRIC WITH THE FIRST ELEMENT AND SURROUNDING THE SAME, SAID SECOND ELEMENT BEING PROVIDED WITH INTERNAL RECESSES DEFINING A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT CHAMBERS, THE FIRST ELEMENT INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE EXTENRAL LOBE, MEANS INCLUDING A GEAR MECHANISM FOR DRIVING ONE OF THE ELEMENTS IN ROTATION ALONG A PATH IN WHICH SAID LOBE OF SAID FIRST ELEMENT IS INTRODUCED AND WITHDRAWN FROM THE CHAMBERS SUCCESSIVELY, SAID GEAR MECHANISM COMPRISING A SUN GEAR COUPLED WITH THE OTHER OF THE ELEMENTS, EXTERNALLY TOOTHED PLANET GEARS IN MESH WITH THE SUN GEAR, SAID PLANET GEARS HAVING INDIVIDUAL CENTERS, AND MEANS ECCENTRICALLY SUPPORTING EACH OF THE PLANET GEARS WITH RESPECT TO ITS OWN CENTER FROM SAID ONE ELEMENT IN REGULAR ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO SAID SUN GEAR SUCH THAT UPON RELATIVE ROTATION BETWEEN SAID GUN GEAR AND PLANET GEARS SAID ONE ELEMENT IS CAUSED TO UNDERGO RELATIVE ROTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER ELEMENT. 